


Daybreak

by IcyStarlight



Series: Until The Magic Wears Off [1]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Demons, Dragons, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 02:19:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15014510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyStarlight/pseuds/IcyStarlight
Summary: As the princess of Taimystyre, Tsumugi Takanashi has seen a lot in her life thus far whether by reading about it, learning about it, or experiencing first hand the world around her. What she has never seen though, is what she finds one fateful spring day, a dragon. These supposedly dead creatures of magic are ones she used to read about in fairy tales yet there's one in the castle gardens, albeit a small one, but a dragon nonetheless. She only hopes she can save it from its impending death and befriend it.Edited 10/14/18: fixed some small mistakes I found re-reading.





	Daybreak

**Author's Note:**

> no beta we die like men, or otherwise known as there's only so many times I can reread my own work and notice mistakes I apologize as I probably missed some

Spring was Tsumugi’s favorite season of the year. She loved her home. She loved the castle and all its occupants. But nothing felt better than stepping outside, taking a break from the day, and eating her lunch in the gardens. It had been a tradition since she was little. Her mother used to bring her out here everyday and read to her under the same tree. Even now, though her mother had passed, she still continued to eat lunch outside in the warmer weather.

As she made her way to her favorite tree, she took in all the lovely things about her favorite season. Spring meant flowers were blooming, the air was warmer, the sun stayed out longer, there was a small dragon under her tree.

Wait. What?

There was a dragon under her tree. It couldn’t be larger than a small dog. The poor thing was so thin she could see its bones. Dirt and grime covered it, making what was probably red look to be a muddy brown. Even curled up in the sun it was still shaking. The stories of these creatures painted them as fierce and majestic yet this one looked so frail. _It looked like it was ready to die._

She moved closer, hoping to get a better look. She tried to be quiet but the dragon wakes up at the noise and notices her. It scrambles up the tree and disappears into the maze of newly forming leaves and dark branches. Tsumugi doesn’t bother to try and see where it went. The poor thing was probably scared to death that she’d snuck up on it when it had been asleep. Part of her wants to call out and apologize, but she doesn’t think it would believe her. 

It was only a glimpse, but the long scar that ran over its chest could only have been made by a blade. She knew enough history to know humans had hunted dragons until near extinction. There was no doubt this one had almost suffered the same fate.

She was going to eat lunch out here but she didn’t feel that hungry anymore. Now she didn’t even want to stay out here because the dragon was hiding in her tree and Tsumugi didn’t want to scare it anymore than she already had.

Her chest hurt from seeing the poor thing, _one of the supposedly dead creatures of magic_ , looking like it was ready to die. Then she remembers her basket full of food as it sways into her leg from where she holds it. Well, if she wasn’t going to eat it… maybe the dragon would. 

As non-threatening as she can get, she walks over and places the basket under the tree. She hoped the dragon would eat it if it didn’t have anything else. No one deserved to go hungry. She hoped she could save it, even just for one more day. Even if she never got to be close to it, she hoped it wouldn’t die. Because even covered in dirt and as thin as a twig it was still beautiful. It was still alive. And whether it knew it or not, it was now in her kingdom. That meant Tsumugi would do everything in her power to help it.

  
  


Later after dinner, she’s sitting at her desk mumbling over reports when there’s a knock at the door. She doesn’t bother to look up from her current spot on this provisions report for one of the outer cities as the door opens and someone enters. 

“Princess, where’s your lunch basket?” A familiar voice inquires as her childhood friend and advisor, Iori, comes to stand on the other side of her desk. 

Tsumugi hums, still not looking up from her report, “I must’ve left it in the gardens by accident.”

“On accident? Really? You, left your favorite basket, in the gardens, by accident?” 

“Okay, so maybe it was on purpose, but it was for a good cause!” she looks up from her report to defend herself only to find Iori shaking his head.

“Do you remember where you left it?” he asks like he also doesn’t know where it would be.

“Of course, under my tree.” 

“Good, then you can come with me to get it.” He motions for her to get up and come with him.

Sighing she slouches in her chair, “But Iori!”

“No, you left it there, you can at least come get it with me.” It’s futile to argue with him once he’s set his mind to something.

“Fine, but no important business talk, I need a break.” Setting her report down she grabs her coat and starts out the door. 

“Alright Princess, if you say so.” Iori says as he shuts the door behind them and falls into step with her as they make their way down to the gardens.

The walk to the gardens is a quiet one. There’s not the normal daytime hustle and bustle of castle servants running to and fro doing their daily tasks. The setting sun peeks through the various windows coating the castle in a pale light as only the candles remain to light the halls. It’s always nice to just walk through her home and take it all in. All of Taimystyre was beautiful in her eyes, but the castle was something Tsumugi would never get tired off.

They choose to simply walk in silence until they reached her tree. Sure enough, her picnic basket sat underneath the tree in the same place she left it. She frowns, she had hoped the dragon would’ve eaten it. But it seems like it hasn’t been touched.

Yet as they get closer there’s something on top of the basket. A small pile of torn up flowers rests on top of the basket.

Tsumugi smiles as she picks up the flowers. It’s a pile of roses. One red, one white, and one pink. They’re the same ones she could find on the other side of the garden, but its who they’re from that makes them special.

If Iori gives her a strange look when she takes them back up to her room and puts them in the flower vase on her windowsill, she doesn’t pay attention. Only happy to know that the dragon had accepted the food she left for it. That it was still ready for help. There was still a chance she could save it.

  
  


When she returns to the gardens the next day, the dragon is nowhere to be seen. It’s sad but she should’ve known not to get her hopes up that it’d come back. It probably thinks there’s some ulterior motive she may have. She may be a princess and her father may try to shelter her, but she knew just as life was not always kind. That people could be the same way. 

Sitting down with her back to the tree, she takes out her sandwich and the book she was currently reading. An story of days where magic was more prevalent. 

_There was a time when dragons roamed. They stayed with humankind long after the fae did. When magic flowed freely throughout the lands and everyone could feel it in the air. Those who trained in the arts of magic pushed the boundary of what was possible further and further. Until one man pushed the boundary too far._

_With the fae no longer around to teach mankind about the dark realms, the man made a contract with a demon. Soon he became the vessel for the demon king, the ruler of the dark realms, to enter our world and create more portals to the dark realms._

_The lands struggled. Those who had passed down the tale knew of the legend of the fae. That their prince would come to guide the future of the lands. The heavens and the earth would be saved by this future. In humanity’s darkest hours the two would help guide the future through the fallen lands to reach-_

A sudden chirp startles her and she loses her spot on the page. She’s halfway to finding her spot when it happens again. Multiple times in quick succession. Looking up, the dragon is there. Perched on one of the lower branches looking down at her. 

Slowly, she starts standing up. Half way up she hears the dragon hiss and sees it curl away from her. Deciding not to push her boundaries, she sits back down. The dragon watches her, its tail swishes side to side as it watches. Next to her, she looks at her half eaten sandwich and then back up at the dragon. 

“Um, I don’t know if you can understand me, but all the books I read said you can so I’m going to try.” She picks up her book, but doesn’t move from her spot yet. Tsumugi looks back up at the dragon. It’s now cocked its head to the side and she takes it as a sign to continue, “I’m going to leave this here, and if you could tie the handkerchief, the thing underneath the food, to the fences by the front of the gardens, um the side by the castle, I’ll know to ask for a bigger lunch tomorrow to share. Does that sound good?”

The dragon says nothing. It turns its head back to upright and silently watches her. It’s eyes are like rubies, they seem to try to stare into her soul and gage her intentions. She smiles at it, hoping it understood her. Offering the dragon a small wave, she gets up from her spot with her book and basket leaving the small dragon behind. Hoping that tomorrow she’ll find her handkerchief tied to the garden fences.

  
  


She cheers when Mitsuki comes up to her the next day mid morning. Mitsuki is Iori’s older brother who’s continued to watch over both of them since they were young. He’s holding her handkerchief and frowning as he approaches, that can only mean he found her handkerchief tied to the fences. When he hears her cheer he sighs, “Are we playing hide and seek now with your things? Iori told me you left your basket outside the other day too. Now I found this tied to the garden fences. Is something happening?” 

Iori is working across from her at their table in the library. If he thinks there’s something going on too, there’s no way to work her way out of this without telling them the truth. These brothers had grown up with her, they would know if she was lying. He looks up from his own set of papers. Tsumugi knows what that look means. It means that she should spill what she’s hiding. 

Sighing, she knows there’s no point in even trying to lie. Beckoning Mitsuki to sit next to her she leans over the table which prompts them to do the same so they can hear her whisper, “I’m trying to befriend a dragon.”

Mitsuki bursts out laughing. Iori fails to hide his own laughter behind his hand. She sits defeated as they both continue to laugh. Mitsuki wipes his eyes with the back of his hand before speaking, “Sure, a dragon, and I’m best friends with a fae. Do you realize how absurd that sounds Princess?” 

“But it’s the truth! There was a dragon under my tree and I left the basket hoping it would eat it. It did and left me flowers. Then yesterday it was in the tree and I told it that when it finished the sandwich it should tie the handkerchief around the fence so then I would know to ask for more food. And today you found that handkerchief tied around the fence!” 

“Wait, how did you, you’re kidding me right? Aren’t the dragons dead? You met one? How is it trusting you enough to accept food from you? Can we met it?” 

“Calm down, one question at a time Nii-san.” Iori interjected over Mitsuki’s rapid fire questions.

“No its okay, I got most of it Iori.” Tsumugi stops them both and tries to answer all of Mitsuki’s questions, “Well I’m not kidding, as I told the dragon to tie the handkerchief to the the fence. The stories and books say they’re gone but it's definitely a dragon, a small one, but its a dragon. As for accepting food, the first day it, it looked like it was ready to die. It’s so thin and dirty and it ran from me when it finally noticed I was there.” 

“So no meeting it yet, it probably barely trusts you and it wouldn’t anymore if you suddenly brought more people with.” Iori states as he picks up his reports again.

“Yeah, hopefully you can meet it soon, but for now, I’d rather not scare it.”

Mitsuki looks between the two of them before sighing, “Alright, I’ll pack two lunches for you. Just make sure you be careful. Weak or not, it’s still a dragon and they are dangerous when they try.”

“Thank you Mitsuki!” 

Mitsuki waves his hand over his shoulder as he leaves, “Thank me by not leaving your things in the garden anymore, you’re getting mud all over everything.”

  
  


When Tsumugi makes it out to the gardens with her two lunches, she’s thrilled to see the little dragon sitting in the tree with its tail swinging side to side. 

“I got Mitsuki to pack you a lunch today, and I think he even packed some of his cookies in yours.” she sets the basket down at the base of the tree and sits so she can rest on it. When there’s the sound of the dragon scuttling down the tree she opens the basket and pulls out two sandwiches. She sets the sandwiches out and continues to rummage through her basket. There’s apple slices and Mitsuki’s cookies as well. She’s lifting them out of the basket when something red catches her eyes. 

The dragon is right there. It is literally right next to her. What was she supposed to do? What did it want from her? Wait, that was a silly question. 

The dragon waits half tucked behind the tree trunk until she sets down the food and closes the basket lid. She unwraps the sandwiches, leaving the dragon’s out, before starting to eat her own. The dragon slowly makes its way over to the plate. Its tail swishes back and forth behind it. It’s uneasy coming this close to her, she can see the tension in its bony shoulders. Now Tsumugi feels bad for leaving its food next to her.

“You can take the food, you don’t have to eat it here with me, I don’t mind.” she smiles at it and it simply watches her. It’s only when she starts eating again that the little dragon darts out, nabs the sandwich, and runs back to the tree trunk for cover. It was fast. 

The dragon looks up at her from where it’s dropped the sandwich and she gives it a smile. It really is cute. The dragon watches her slightly as it bends down and starts eating. Then it seems to take its eyes off her in favor of inhaling its food. Literally inhaling it, the poor thing tries to eat so fast that it starts to choke. 

She’s quick to grab her cup of juice and move over towards the dragon. “I’m sorry for coming so close, but this will help the food go down, please drink some, I can go away if you want me to, but please help yourself.”

Tsumugi sets the cup down as close as she thinks the dragon will allow her to go, so the cup rests a few small steps in front of it before she backs off towards where her own food sits. As soon as she’s settled back on her heels, the dragon rushes forwards and dunks its head in her cup. A few seconds pass before the little red head pops back up again, it seems okay now. That’s a relief. 

The dragon opens it mouth, it looks like it’s going to yawn but instead it lets out a loud burp. Tsumugi can’t help it, she laughs. Such a small thing making such a loud sound. That’s what she expects to hear out of the knights when they hold a celebration and there’s alcohol, not a small little dragon who could probably fit on her shoulders. 

Said dragon cocks its head and looks at her in confusion, she calms herself to explain, “I’m sorry, it was just funny to me that such a small thing as yourself could sound like some of the larger knights here.” the dragon’s tail swishes back and forth, from its face Tsumugi wants to say it’s smiling at her but it’s probably just her imagination. She clears her throat before speaking again, “Please do eat slower though, it’ll be better to actually taste the food and not choke. I promise no one is going to take the food from you.” 

“Princess! The council meeting this afternoon!” Far off, she can hear Sougo call for her. That’s right! The meeting! 

Quickly standing, she smooths out her dress before turning to address the small dragon who watches her, “I have to go now, but I’ll be sure to bring more food tomorrow. You can leave this all here and someone will come get it later. Feel free to finish what I’ve left as long as you promise to eat it slowly okay?”

She doesn’t pay much attention as she leaves her small companion behind, but she swears it nods to her as she leaves.

Mitsuki scolds her later for leaving her things out in the garden again, but says she’s getting off easy because the dragon put everything in the basket when it was done and left another pink rose on top of the basket. Tsumugi places it with the others in the vase in her windowsill and hopes the dragon will stay for just a while longer.

  
  


The next day, Iori comes out with her to the gardens for lunch. They have reports to go over and sign off on before the second meeting with the council later today. There’s upcoming meetings with the regional nobles and all this other paperwork needs to be out of the way. Hence lunch time being used for work time instead of a break. 

When the dragon sees her approaching it chirps at her. Then it sees Iori is with her and it hisses, it’s tail curling around itself as it slowly backs into the tree branches. Tsumugi doesn’t know how to explain herself. The dragon trusted her and now she’s betrayed it. 

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to explain as Iori steps up to do so. Calm and collected as he normally is, he doesn’t hesitate to address the dragon outright, “Relax, I am simply here to help the princess finish some work. We will be sitting over there at that table and I will stay there the whole time until we leave.”

True to his word, Iori nods to her and then moves over to the table with the pile of reports. Leaving her with the lunch basket and the little dragon. It gives her the confused look, head cocked to the side with it’s tail swishing. 

Approaching the tree, she kneels down to take out the dragon’s portion of the food. She hears the dragon make its way down the tree and come up near her. Tsumugi smiles as it comes into view in front of her, slightly peaking around her to watch Iori, “I’m sorry for not getting a chance to warn you about someone else coming. That’s my best friend Iori. We’ve grown up together here, he seems cold but he’s a big softie and really likes cute things. He’s spent his whole life helping me become who I am today and he’ll probably continue helping me until he can’t anymore. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a friend help you before, but I’m eternally grateful for him.” 

The dragon doesn’t say anything. But it approaches for the food. She smiles at it, it’s ruby eyes watching her, before she gets up and makes her way over to where Iori is sitting with the partially empty basket. 

They’re deep in conversation later about how many knights are needed near the Mystre Forest to protect the city from monsters now that winter has passed and they’ll be more active when something red catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. Iori notices it too from the way he abruptly stops in the middle of his sentence. 

The dragon’s little head has popped up over the edge of the table across from them. It’s perched on one of the chairs, tail swishing behind it, eyeing them. Or at least its eyeing the rest of Iori’s sandwich from where it sits next to him. 

“I think it wants the rest of your sandwich.” she looks between the dragon and the sandwich, it’s clearly eyeing the sandwich. 

Iori looks between the two as well and sighs, “Very well, I suppose you can have it.” 

The dragon bounds up onto the table and snatches the sandwich.

“As long as you eat it slowly and at the table proper.”

The dragon turns and stares at Iori, the sandwich balanced in its mouth, but it slinks back to its chair and sits down. It slowly eats the sandwich, only taking small bites of it.

It listened to Iori and did as he asked. What kind of mystical power did he have? Tsumugi only realizes she’s staring when he blushes and looks away, “You said yesterday it nearly choked because it ate too fast. It seems to understand us and it trusts you. After watching, it’s clear you trust me so it must believe in the trust that it’s placed in you. That or it learned its lesson after yesterday.” 

The dragon sits with them at the table long after it finishes eating. They work through the reports, only leaving once they’ve completed the pile they brought out. The dragon stays as they pack up and even when they leave. Though by that time its curled up on the chair as the sun falls directly on it, and it looks to be asleep. Quietly as they can, they leave the sleeping dragon.

Iori only lightly smacks her arm as they walk away because she gives him a sly smile as he mumbles about how cute the sleeping dragon is as they pass.

It when the next day roles around that Tsumugi realizes she won’t be able to feed the dragon today. Meetings are coming up for the regional gathering to make sure it all goes smoothly. They have to figure out which nobles are actually doing their jobs and which aren’t to fact check against what they say and she still has so many reports to go through. 

She asks Mitsuki to go in her place but they’re both worried about how the dragon might react. Hopefully it’ll be able to forgive her.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the princess asks him to be the one to feed the dragon today he panics. He’s never met the dragon before, its going to run away and never come back and he’s going to have to explain to a heart broken Tsumugi why her newest friend is gone. 

But he takes the basket of food and makes his way out to gardens anyways because she asked him to. The dragon is napping under the tree in the shade and wakes up as he approaches. It blinks slowly before its ruby eyes find him. He can see the fear in its eyes when it realizes it’s not Tsumugi approaching. Before he can even blink, the dragon suddenly scrambles up the tree into the branches above.

“Wait! The Princess sent me, she’s really busy and can’t come today. She’s really sorry that she sent me without warning but there was no other choice because she doesn’t want you to go hungry. I have your food, I can leave it here and go if you want me too.”

The dragon doesn’t reappear. He’s about to start thinking of how to explain to Tsumugi that he scared off her new friend when the dragon’s small ruby head sticks out from the budding leaves. The scene makes him laugh a bit and to his surprise the dragon doesn’t hide away again. It merely watches him from it’s vantage point.

“Though if I’m being honest I’d rather stay. It’s only fair if my brother got to meet you too.” The dragon looks confused by this. So he continues speaking, “Ah my little brother Iori, he was with Tsumugi yesterday. He said you wanted to eat his sandwich and sat with them at the table. He probably doesn’t want me to tell you this, but he thinks you’re really cute.”

The dragon ducks back into the branches. There’s the sound of shuffling before it reappears climbing down the tree trunk. It slowly approaches him and stops a few feet in front of him. He slowly sits down and opens the basket of food. The dragon moves closer so it’s right in front of him. He pulls out two sandwiches and unwraps one for the dragon who starts eating it immediately. 

They eat in silence. Until they both finish the sandwiches. The dragon’s tail swishes back and forth behind it. Tsumugi did say it really liked his cookies and he knows she always shares them with the dragon.

“I made some new cookies and I was hoping I could get your opinion on them before I give them to the princess. Would you like to taste test for me?” The dragon chirps and he cheers, “Alright, but we need a system for you to tell me how they are. Um, I guess we’ll just make one up as we go along.”

They eventually set up a system of approval. Nod for good, head shake for not good, spit out if its really bad (thankfully that only happens once), tail swish for really good, and then a chirp for best. The dragon likes the butter cookies best. The dried fruit cookies did not work out like he had hoped. But he has a new kind of cookie that’s dragon approved and ready to be shared.

“Thanks for your help today little dragon, Tsumugi will be back tomorrow.” without realizing what he’s doing he reaches out and rubs the small spikes along the dragon’s back. It’s only when the dragon freezes under his touch that he realizes what he’s done. Mortified he immediately pulls away and apologizes franticly, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t even realize what I was doing! I’m so so so sorry! Please don’t run away and never come back! Tsumugi really likes you and I don’t want my stupid mistake to cost her a new friend!” 

The dragon stares at him. It stares into his soul and then it cocks its head to the side. He breathes a sigh of relief when it stays. He watches it back, it’s tail starts swishing side to side as they have a stare off. It’s a contest he loses but he tries his best. He leaves after that, waving goodbye to the dragon. It even waves back. Iori was right, the little dragon is really cute.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning things have calmed down for her. Most of the castle is preoccupied with last night's late returners, a group of knights and the court mage who make yearly rounds in spring to make sure the towns of Taimystyre have protection from any monsters that will come out with the warmer weather. 

When she makes it out to the gardens for lunch she can’t find the dragon anywhere. She looks everywhere, searches the whole garden more or less. But she can’t find any sign of the little dragon. Seeing no point in being outside anymore, she makes her way back to the library.

Upon her return she simply puts her head down on one of the tables. She doesn’t sit back up until someone else enters the library. Well, multiple people enter the library from the bits of conversation she can hear as they enter. 

“Oh Princess? What is the matter? Did you miss me that terribly?” Nagi, the court mage, pauses in the doorway. Behind him she can see Mitsuki and Iori. Both brothers look at her and frown. She simply puts her head back down on the table. “This is not the welcome back I expected. Today is full of strange surprises.” 

Mitsuki sighs, “Again with the surprises, what great unexpected surprise did you find this morning? You were in the middle of telling us but then stopped.”

“Yes, because it’s a secret surprise! But I trust my dear friends to keep a secret.” 

“Well, what was it?” Iori asks.

“I met a dragon this morning!” At Nagi’s exclamation she immediately sits up

“A dragon? Was it small, red, and have a large scar on its chest?” 

Nagi gasps in surprise, “Yes, how did you know? Has the dragon been here since I left?”

“No the dragon just showed up earlier this week. Tsumugi’s taken to sharing a lunch with it.” Mitsuki eyes the basket next to her, “Did you happen to share your breakfast with it?” 

“Yes I did actually, why do you ask?” 

“Because the only reason for the princess to be so upset was if the dragon wasn’t in the garden for lunch and the only reason it wouldn’t be there is if it already had eaten.” Iori sits down next to her and opens the basket. He pulls out one of the sandwiches and hands it to her.

Nagi sits down across from her and frowns, “The poor dragon is very small. I felt so terrible for it when it didn’t even want to talk to me.” 

“It can talk?” Mitsuki nearly closes the basket lid on his fingers in surprise.

“Dragons can talk and they’re very good at it! They used to transform into humans and live among them when they were still around. Though this one must only be a half dragon as its so small even this young...” Nagi trails off.

This is news to them. She shares a look with Iori and Mitsuki before Mitsuki sits next to Nagi and hands him a cookie, “Then why doesn’t it just turn human and do the same?”

Nagi accepts the cookie with a small smile, “It has a lot of magic but it doesn’t seem like it has good control over it. It’s magic signature is very strong and powerful, yet it can only do small tricks from what it showed me.”

“But do you think it could talk if it wanted to?” She hopes it can talk, she really does want to be friends with it.

“Of course! If it’s warmed up enough to you there’s no doubt that it’ll talk to you first Princess.”

“Really? Do you think it’ll stick around long enough for that though?” 

“Dragons will make a home wherever they feel safe. If it comes to trust you, well it would probably even say yes to staying here in the castle.” 

“YOU MEAN I COULD GET IT TO STAY?” Her outburst makes Iori nearly choke on his food when she stands up suddenly

“Yes! It would be wonderful! Dragons are gentle and friendly creatures! I have no doubt we would be able to call it a friend!” Nagi follows her lead and they grin at each other..

“It has to actually talk to one of us first before it can agree to stay.” Iori reminds them.

“Well yeah, but the point is when Iori, when it does then it’ll stay.” Mitsuki grins at his brother who merely sighs.

“When is the key, but it is not now, -”

“Iooorrriiii” Tsumugi whines. No, she knows what this means. No more work!

“- now we have work to do.”

“You’re right! I still have to give my report to the King.” Nagi stands up and readjusts his shoulder bag, “Ah, but you should definitely tell me more about this little dragon later!” 

He leaves with a wave and Mitsuki follows him not long after with her now empty basket. Her and Iori slowly manage to work through the pile of reports on the table. Her excitement from these newly learned facts keep her spirit up as they work. 

The dragon could end up staying. All she needed to do was keep letting it warm up to her.

  
  


Her plan to get the dragon to warm up to her is going far faster than she imagined. Tsumugi went out for lunch as normal and the dragon was no longer waiting in the tree, but at the base of the tree. It doesn’t hesitate to sit next to her for all of lunch. They eat in silence, she’s too worried that trying to force it to talk will scare it away. So she simply reads her book on old legends that Nagi gave her yesterday. 

There’s more on dragons in this one book than she's learned in her life thus far. She’s too absorbed in reading that she doesn’t even notice when someone approaches.

“Princess, did you get the update on the regional visit schedule?” She jumps a little at the familiar voice. Tsumugi looks up from her book to find Yamato, the knight captain, standing in front of her looking tired. She wonders where the dragon went when she feels something behind her. She doesn’t turn to look, but she knows its the dragon. 

“Yes, Iori updated me before lunch. Are you the one doing final checks?” He looks tired, she hopes he’s not being worked too hard after just coming back. Something red appears in the corner of her vision and she looks down at it slightly. The little dragon has peered around her to watch Yamato closely.

Yamato shakes his head and pretends not to notice when a small ruby head appears by her side, “Nah I just figured I’d check in with you, it has been a while since I’ve been around. Besides a certain blond told me if I came to see you I might find something interesting.”

This gets her to smile, “Nagi was very excited to learn what had happened before he came back.” 

“It’s all he’s talked about for the past day, at least to me, but it made me think of something. Does your friend have a way to hide from out visitors?” Yamato nods his head to the half hidden dragon behind her. 

That was right. A lot of the nobles would be coming for the next two days. They all hated each other more or less. The best way to pacify them was to let them have the garden space. The same space where her new dragon friend was now spending time in. 

Tsumugi buries her hand in her hands and groans. Yamato laughs and she peels her hands away just enough to send him a disappointed stare.

“Alright, alright I get it. Well lucky for you, I’ve thought of a solution for you.” Yamato clears his throat and turns slightly to address the dragon, “Oi little dragon, we’re gonna be having lots of people here visiting the next few days. I know you don’t like strangers and the Princess here doesn’t want you to go hungry so tomorrow instead of coming here for lunch, look for the little shed tucked away in the back corner by the roses. I’ll even put a small flag up so you can see it. Someone will be there tomorrow to give you lunch.” 

The dragon slowly comes out from its hiding spot. It doesn’t venture very far from her side but comes into view. Yamato gives the dragon a wave and to her surprise the dragon waves back. _That was the cutest thing she’s ever seen_. 

“This is my friend Yamato, he’s the captain of the royal knights. He acts like he doesn’t care but he’s always the first to know what to do if there’s ever a problem.” She explains to the dragon who looks between the two of them. 

“Ah come on Princess, you’re embarrassing me. Tomorrow there will be a tall knight with blue hair who will come give you your food tomorrow, okay?” He pauses and when the dragon nods he smiles and continues talking, “Alright, I got more things to organize so I’ll so you around Princess. Nice meeting you lil dragon.”

Its only once Yamato is out of sight that she realizes she probably should also get back to work before Iori comes looking for her. She waves as she leaves and the dragon waves back. 

Tsumugi doesn’t think she’ll ever be over how cute that is. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Yama-san says he has a special task for him, Tamaki doesn’t quite know what to think of it. What special task could it be? They just got back the other day from checking the towns and forest. Aside from all the rude nobles coming, what else was there going on? Mikki tells him that it’s an important job for the princess. But he’s given a basket of food and told to find the old shed in the back of the gardens.

Thankfully Iorin seems to notice his confusion and pulls him aside as they pass each other in the halls. 

“Are you going to feed the dragon?” Iorin asks quietly, glancing around them at the passersby. His question confuses Tamaki. Dragon? What dragon? Iorin simply shakes his head and explains, “Not long before you returned a small dragon appeared in the gardens. The Princess has been sharing her lunch with it every day since. She wants to befriend it enough so eventually it might stay here. As long as you don’t sneak up on it or get too close you should be fine.” 

“Oh, so that’s what’s going on! Thanks Iorin!” He pats Iorin on the shoulder as he sets off to the gardens, his secret task now much more exciting than previously thought. Tamaki weaves through the crowds of servants trying to get everything together for the big lunch conversations and makes his way deeper into the gardens. He doesn’t come out here often as he should. It really is nice out here. 

When he makes it to the old shed he sets the basket down and looks around for the supposed dragon. How big was the dragon anyways? Surely it couldn’t be the ones in the legends because those were huge. Everyone in the city would know it was here. Maybe it was a baby dragon or something. He’d have to ask Nagiichi more about real dragons later. 

He’s been sitting against the shed for a bit, watching the clouds when something red pops into his field of view. It’s the dragon or at least it’s head. The dragon is way smaller than he thought it would be but it makes sense why it’s a secret now. 

The dragon watches him, small red eyes seem to question what he’s doing here so he explains, “Ah, I’m Tamaki. The Princess sent me to give you your lunch.”

Tamaki watches the small dragon disappear from view for a bit before it appears on the ground next to him. He was right, this dragon is way small. Is it still a dragon if it’s this tiny? It seems dirty, but he doubts the dragon will let anyone close enough to give it a bath. What really catches him off guard though, is the long scar that runs from the dragon’s left shoulder down to its hip. It looks old, even though the dragon seems so young. 

The dragon’s chirp brings him back to reality. Right, he had its food. He could think about the dragon later, it was probably hungry. Tamaki opens the basket and pulls out the lunch packed in it. It’s not surprising that he actually finds two lunches packed. There’s even some pudding packed in the basket as well. 

“Woah, alright way to go Mikki!” his sudden cheering startles the small dragon as it hisses at him. That’s right the dragon. Tamaki holds his hands up in defence, “Sorry lil guy, Mikki packed pudding and I got excited. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have startled you.”

The dragon merely sits back up from its hunched position. Eyes watching questioningly. It even cocks its head to the side. No wonder Iorin took time to explain what was happening, he must like the dragon too. It was extremely cute.

“Here, I’ll even share it with you. It’s really good! Mikki knows how to make the best desserts!” Tamaki sets the cup of pudding in front of the dragon. It eyes the cup, tail swishing side to side behind it before it takes a lick at the pudding. He can see it’s eyes light up when it tastes the perfection. “Isn’t it good?” 

The little dragon chirps at him like a bird and he laughs. He continues laughing when the dragon gets a pudding mustache. Tamaki hoped the dragon was laughing too. It seemed like it, but he couldn’t tell for sure. 

Eventually though, they ran out of pudding and Tamaki knew he had duties to get back to. Packing the basket back up, he stood up. The dragon sat on the ground still, it really was tiny now that he was standing. The grey sky above them promised rain. He wondered if the dragon had a place to hide from the rain. Then he remembered the blanket tucked into the bottom of the basket. Sometimes Mikki’s planning skills were scary.

“It probably gonna rain soon, you can feel it in the air.” the dragon stares up at the sky and growls at it, the little guy didn’t seem to like rain. So Tamaki made up his mind and figured no one would ever know either way really, “The shed is unused, come on I’ll even leave you a blanket.”

He undoes the lock on the door and pushes it open. It’s surprisingly clean in here, but he’s sure no one will come here between now and the time the nobles leave. Taking the blanket out of the basket, he folds it nicely on top one of the lower shelves in the shed. “Here you go lil guy, now you can hide from the rain and chill.” 

The dragon looks between him and the blanket. He thinks the dragon doesn’t want it until it zips by him before he can really process it and curls up on it. Heh, so it did like the idea. Tamaki leaves the dragon with a promise of someone coming by tomorrow, rain or not, to bring more food. If he smiles because left a cookie wrapped in the blanket as a surprise and he can imagine the lil guy’s excitement upon finding it, well then no one would have to know. 

Sou-chan would be proud of him for making friends properly this time. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Mitsuki pulls him away from his break, shoves a heavy rain cloak and the Princess’ picnic basket in his hands, and tells him to go to the shed in the back gardens he is thoroughly confused. Sougo spends a solid three minutes standing under the safety of the castle’s overhanging roof before he hears someone call his name. 

Turning to the sound of the voice he isn’t surprised to see Yamato outside, away from where all the stuffy nobles are cooped up inside. They both had bonded over hating when the regional visits came up. Having both come from noble families there was a lot in common between them. It had been nice to learn he wasn’t the only one who had been basically disowned or left his life behind by following something he wanted to do.

“You’re on dragon duty today I see.” Yamato motions to the basket.

“Dragon duty? Oh is that what’s going on? Mitsuki just shoved this at me and sent me outside with the words back shed.” He had heard all about the small dragon, but had yet to actually meet it. Everyone one else had, Tamaki and Nagi had spent all of dinner last night talking about the small dragon with the Princess. 

“Yeah, apparently someone complained about the food and Mitsu is losing his mind about it insisting that he’s going to beat some sense into the noble’s heads today.” Yamato laughed and it was easy to picture Mitsuki taking a baking pin and threatening nobles. He had done it before, what would stop him from doing it this time? 

He sets the basket down and puts the heavy rain cloak on with a heft, “Well better go do dragon duty before you try to bribe me into trading jobs with you again.”

Yamato groans, and covers his face with his hand, “One time! It was one time!”

He pulls the basket under his cloak to protect it from the rain as Yamato protests. 

“Tsk tsk Yamato, one time is all it takes.” He teases as he sets off into the rain.

“One time!” 

He laughs as he makes his way to shed. It’s not too far of a walk but the rain makes it feel like a long time.

Sougo knocks on the shed door when he arrives. Tamaki had said to make sure not to startle the dragon and he’d be fine. So he waits a minute and before he can enter, a small red face peers through the small side window near the door. Sure enough, there’s a dragon in the shed. Not that he doubted the others, but it was different to see the small creature rather than just hear about it. 

Opening the door, he hopes the dragon isn’t perched on it somehow as it swings open from the force of the wind. The dragon watches him as he struggles to get the door to close again against the rain. When it does close it slams loudly and makes him jump, probably scaring the dragon too. So much for first impressions. He turns towards the dragon who is watching him with ruby eyes. It was very small and that scar looked awful, the others were right. 

“Hello I’m Sougo, the princess sent me today as Tamaki couldn’t come today. I hope that’s alright.” He explains to the dragon. The creature simply watches him, looking him over, he’s spent enough time learning to understand Tamaki that he can guess what the dragon is curious about. He shift the cloak so he can pull the basket out, “Don’t worry I kept it dry.”

The dragon swishes its tail back and forth at the appearance of the basket. Taking the cloak off, he hangs it on one of the shelving units before sitting on the floor and digging through the basket. There’s nothing strange until he realizes that the dragon probably shouldn’t eat the whole apple. A knife wrapped in a cloth at the bottom of the basket confirms his suspicion that Mitsuki simply didn’t cut up the apple as he had rushed to do everything. 

Pulling out the two sandwiches he unwraps one and gives it to the small dragon in front of him. For the way the others had told him to take caution, the dragon seemed anything but the skittish creature they had first talked about. It was sitting across from him. Probably close enough for him to touch if he wanted. Yet he said nothing as they ate in silence. 

When the dragon had finished it watched him closely. He handed the last few bites of his sandwich over to it. Sougo figured the thin creature could use the extra food. The dragon chirped at quickly ate his way through the last few bites of the sandwich. He wondered if the dragon had ever gotten to eat fresh apple slices. 

“The princess said you liked apple slices, but Mitsuki was very busy today and didn’t have time to cut this apple up.” Sougo explains as he holds up the whole apple. The dragon looks saddened by this and he decides to ask before he does just in case, “If it’s okay with you I can take out a knife and cut it up for you. Just tell me to stop if it’s not okay.”

The dragon says nothing as he pulls out the knife. It simply watches him cut the apple up and place the slices down. He can see the tension in the dragon’s shoulders and decides against cutting the slices into bunnies like he does for Tsumugi. 

It’s only once he’s placed the knife in the basket that the dragon relaxes and dares to come up to the apple slices itself. He hands a slice over to the dragon who watches it for a second before gently taking it from him and eating it. Sougo gives the dragon a smile as it’s tail starts to swish again. 

The rain lets up outside as the loud pitter patter against the shed roof quiets down. Sougo tells the dragon about the visiting nobles. About how the Princess is so fed up with them even though it’s only for two days. They’d be gone by lunch tomorrow so the Princess would be able to meet back under her tree in the gardens. The dragon was more than welcome to stay in the shed to keep dry however, rain was cold and if it got sick then Tsumugi would be worried. The dragon tries to stay awake as he talks, but he can see the small creature’s eyes drooping. Sougo decides the dragon should try and get some rest so he’ll take his leave.

Before he goes, the dragon climbs up onto a blanket. He knew Tamaki had left it one but the poor thing still looks like its trying not to shiver. Picking up the now mostly dry cloak, he gently drapes it over the small dragon who looks surprised at this. He tells it not to worry, the walk back to the castle isn’t far and Tsumugi would feel a lot better to know her dear friend wasn’t out cold in the rain. This gets the dragon to settle back down as he makes his leave, sure to close the door tight behind him.

The rain, of course, comes back stronger than ever on his walk back. Leaving him drenched and shivering when he returns. Mitsuki immediately throws him a towel and forces him to more or less sit by the kitchen’s oven as he yells at Sougo for forgetting his cloak in the shed. It’s only when he weakly protests he gave it to the dragon to shield it from the cold that Mitsuki lets up. This just so happens to be the exact moment Yamato wanders into the kitchen so he overhears the exchange. Yamato who proceeds to bring it up at dinner which brings up all the embarrassing stories of him acting motherly. 

Thankfully he has just the counter, the time the others accidentally called him mom.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She’s grateful when the last noble leaves the castle. Everyone’s grateful they’re gone, but she’s extremely grateful because that means she can go back to eating with her dragon.

As she makes her way to the kitchen she’s passes everyone running about to get the castle back in order. Not only were the nobles annoying, arrogant assholes, they also made the biggest mess. Had they never heard of basic human decency and cleaning up after themselves? Sometimes she wonders how she’ll deal with ruling Taimystyre and not wanting to rip their heads off. She had no idea how her dad does it. 

Servants smile as she passes them rushing about. No more tight curtseys or bows, just the old friendliness she had grown up with. Iori and Banri pass with a wave as they carry documents of signed agreements and new plans. Yamato and Sougo are talking with several other knights as they prepare to start training new castle knights in the upcoming days. Nagi waves to her from across the courtyard as he floats a large stack of books with him, the golden magic glows brightly next to him. 

Tamaki trails not far behind her. She didn’t bother to try and talk to him, knowing he was probably tired from having to keep watch at her door most of the night. Normally other knights would and her personal knights would work the day shifts, but with so many nobles in the castle the knights had been stretched thin to keep people from trying to stick their noses where they didn’t belong. He only perks up when the arrive at the kitchens. Mitsuki would probably have some kind of treat prepared and he always had extras. Today it was a new cookie he had made, he called it a butter cookie and handed both her and Tamaki one. 

It was the best cookie she had ever eaten. She wanted to eat twenty of them. It was so good. Mitsuki handed over her basket instead of more cookies though. Saying she shouldn’t keep their friend waiting any longer. So she took the basket and made her way outside.

As she made her way to her favorite tree, she thought of more things about her favorite season, the longer days and warm air on her skin. What really made this an amazing season better though, was the presence of the small dragon sleeping under her tree.

It looked warm from where it was curled up in the blanket and cloak it had been given. The poor thing was still dirty but it no longer looked like a skeleton. She could still see its bones, one week wasn’t going to fix that, but there was a difference between now and the first day she saw the creature. 

Tsumugi is quiet as she sits down not far in front of it and slowly starts eating her own lunch. She didn’t want to disturb the small dragon as it slept, it could probably use the extra rest. So she pulls out her book and reads in the silence. She eats her sandwich and pulls out the cookies Mitsuki packed her.

The smell must wake the dragon up as it slowly sits up and looks at her. Instead of looking for food though, the dragon does something new. It moves over and curls into her side. She lays a cookie in front of it, but the dragon shakes its head and yawns. Tsumugi smiles, “Tired today? I bet sleeping outside in all this weather change can’t be comfortable.”

The dragon nods and places its head on her leg. She wonders if it can read from how its laying perfectly to read the book along with her.

“Can you read?” 

The dragon shakes it head again. 

She decides it’s going to be now or never. 

“Well, how about this, I can, my friends and I can teach you if you stay. I don’t want to pressure you or anything! I won’t chase you away if you say no and we can forget this ever happened, but stay with us, stay with us for real in the castle. You won’t have to do anything really. You’d just have to behave and listen to me if I tell you not to go somewhere in the castle or do something. Nagi can teach you more about magic and you can learn to read and write. I’d really like the company and no one will want to question me if I have a dragon perched on my shoulders.”

The dragon stares at her. It lifts its head up and locks eyes with her. Not like it normally does when it watches her, but like its trying to stare into her soul again. Hesitantly she holds out her hand. She wants to welcome it. Tsumugi wants it to stay so badly. But before she can do anything else the dragon butts its head into her outstretched palm. 

Something shocks her for a split second, but otherwise nothing happens. The dragon pulls back and looks at her. It swishes its tail behind her like nothing happened. Maybe her offer was too soon. 

Then a cheery voice sounds through her head as the dragon watches her, “I’d really like that alot!” 

Tsumugi screams.

Tamaki runs into the garden immediately, close by just in case, but far enough to give her space. Yet at her scream he’s in the clearing sword drawn. Only to stare confusedly at her when he only sees her sitting on the ground in shock and the small dragon dancing around her. He gives her a questioning look but she couldn’t really process anything beyond her current happiness. 

Tsumugi is pretty sure she’s crying but that was beyond the point. The point was that Tamaki slowly put away his sword and knelt down, hands outstretched to try and calm the hyperactive dragon. 

“Easy there little guy, what’s going on?” Tamaki asked calmly. But the dragon has different plans as it proceeds to also headbutt Tamaki’s hand like it had hers. There’s another shock in the air. This one is smaller, if she hadn’t been paying attention so much she wouldn’t have noticed. 

When the dragon pulls away again Tamaki looks at his hands confused before that same cheery voice sounds again, “Tamaki! Tamaki! I get to stay!”

“Woah.” Tamaki stares wide-eyed at the dragon. Before looking over to her, “Did you-?”

She nods. Tamaki goes back to staring at the dragon with her, mouth agape.

They sit in silence. The dragon bounces around them still, but all they can do is stare at one another and the dragon. Nagi had said it could talk but hearing about it and then actually hearing it were two very different things. 

“Princess, Tamaki, what’s wrong?” Sougo runs into the clearing with Nagi right behind him. He looks confused between the two of them on the ground and the hyperactive dragon. 

When Nagi enters the clearing though, his eyes light up and he claps his hands together, “OH! Our little friend said yes?”

The dragon scampers over to Nagi who meets it with his palm outstretched so the dragon can repeat the headbutt. She almost misses the shock again. But the excited voice in her head speaks again, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“My name is Nagi. What is yours little dragon?”

“I’m Riku! It’s nice to meet you properly Nagi!” 

“Oh no! The pleasure is all mine Riku!” 

Sougo looks between the dragon and Nagi confused as he tries to piece the scene in front of him together, “Riku? Is that the dragons name? What am I missing?”

Nagi holds his hand out to show Sougo, “Here Sougo, hold your hand out like this.”

“Like this? What-” 

Riku repeats the headbutt on Sougo and greets him, “Hi Sogo!”

“- Oh, hello.” Sougo stares dumbfoundead between his hand and Riku who merely ignores the confusion in favor of celebrating still. 

Nagi laughs at their confusion, “It takes some getting used to.”

“You could’ve given us a warning you know.” Tamaki tells him.

“We heard Tsumugi scream, what’s going on?” Yamato, Iori, and Mitsuki enter the clearing with varying degrees of confusion on their faces at the scene before them.

“We’ve got a new member of the castle.” Nagi says proudly.

“Wait, she asked already?” Iori asks.

“The dragon said yes?” Yamato watches the dragon carefully.

“That’s great news!” Mitsuki cheers.

Riku stops celebrating and watches the newcomers, sounding offended as he speaks, “Of course I said yes! Wait, they can’t hear me…”

“Okay you three, over here. Yup now hold your hands out like this. Go ahead Riku.” Nagi instructs the three.

Iori looks confused, but does so anyways, “Riku? Is that his name?”

“Yup! Hi Iori~” Riku peers at Iori from around his outstretched hand. She’s known Iori for a long time but it had been a while since she saw him look that surprised. 

Yamato shakes his head, “I still don’t believe you can just hear the lil guy from him just-”

Riku leaves Iori behind and then headbutts Yamato’s hand, greeting him with a cheery voice, “Hi Yamato!” 

“- okay that’s crazy, magic makes no sense to me.” Yamato stares in disbelief between his hand and Riku.

“Well in theory it’s not that complicated.” Mitsuki says. Riku repeats the motion for Mitsuki and Mitsuki runs his hand down Riku’s back once Riku is done causing the small dragon to scurry out of reach back towards Iori.

“No, no, no. Leave me out of your crazy magic theory discussions.” Yamato shakes his head and backs up.

“Magic theory discussions?” Riku asks.

“Don’t listen to him Riku, Yamato is just upset because he doesn’t understand the conceptual theories behind how magic works.” Mitsuki shakes his head and looks down to Riku. 

“There’s theories? Doesn’t magic… just happen?” Riku stares confused up at Mitsuki, his head cocked to the side.

“See! Riku doesn’t understand either! He is magic! You two are just crazy.” Yamato points at Mitsuki and Nagi.

“I don’t really get it either, but it’s nice to think there’s some explanation behind it.” Riku says. Yamato groans as he’s dragged into yet another discussion about magic theory.

Iori bypasses the scene and approaches Tsumugi, “How are you doing Princess?”

“I’m okay, just shocked from the whole talking dragon thing.” She laughs a little.

“More so than when he first appeared?” Iori questions.

Tsumugi laughs and shakes her head, “Okay, so maybe not, but I scared Riku more so than he scared me the first time around.”

Riku, upon hearing his name perks up and wanders over away from the others. He looks at her accusingly, “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“I didn’t mean too! I’m sorry!” Tsumugi claps her hands together.

“It’s okay, its not like you tried to chase me afterwards. And then you left me food!” Riku says happily.

“Riku, when’s the last time you washed off all that dirt?” Iori asks observing the small dragon.

“Um, good question.” Riku turns around in a circle looking down at himself. Tsumugi has to squash all thoughts of the little dragon chasing its tail because even if it would be extremely cute she doubts Riku would do it. 

“Well then how about we get you a bath first of all. Then we can figure out things from there.” Tsumugi decides. 

Iori looks between her and Riku, “Shouldn’t you introduce Riku to the king first? I think word about a dragon will get around very quickly.”

Riku jumps a little and crouches lower to the ground, “The king? Is he gonna kick me out?”

“My dad won’t kick you out Riku, he’s very nice.” Tsumugi promises.

“Oh! That’s right You’re a princess!” Riku perks up at the realization. 

Iori shakes his head, “How do you forget that?” 

“Nagiichi said you could do magic Rikkun, what kind of magic can you do?” Tamaki asks as he comes over, leaving the magic theory discussion to continue uncontrolled. They had all long since given up on it, though Sougo was still trying to mediate between the three others it seemed. 

“Not a lot. I’m not very good at controlling it. I haven’t really done any in a long time…” Riku trails off.

“That’s okay we can work on it!” Nagi promises as the others seemed to have finally listened to a tired looking Sougo.

Mitsuki turns to Nagi and points a finger at him accusingly, “When you’re not busy with your own duties.”

“We should let Riku adjust to the castle first before you try teaching him a bunch of magic Nagi.” Sougo agrees.

“The castle also needs time to adjust to seeing Riku around.” Iori adds in.

Yamato hums, “I wonder how that’s going to go over.” 

“You worry too much Yama-san everyone will be thrilled to meet Rikkun.” Tamaki says.

“And he already has a nickname, why am I not surprised?” Iori looks at Tamaki.

“Because that’s just how things work around here Iorin.” Tamaki throws back.

The two start bickering like normal. Tsumugi takes the time to stand and brush the grass off herself. She looks down to Riku who looks up at her too. “Well then, shall we?” She asks their new friend.

“Okay!” With a jump, Riku scampers up her back to perch on her shoulder. She could get used to this.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The darkness is inescapable. He knows he can’t get out of it but he keeps running anyways. Faster, faster, faster. He has to run faster but he can’t. Breathing starts to hurt. He can see his breath in the cold air. It stings his lungs worse and worse with each breath. The chill seeps into his bones. It’s painful but he can’t stop. He’s almost there._

_His legs give out. A shadow comes to stand over him and he can only struggle against the crushing weight of the darkness and frost as something strikes down at him. He can only struggle as once again the blade cuts clean right into his chest. He tries to scream but he can’t make a sound. All he can do, is freeze in silence._

Trashing awake he claws his way out from under a blanket. He doesn’t recognize his surroundings. There’s a moment before he remembers the day’s events and stops panicking. Right, he’s safe. He’s in Taimystyre’s castle in the princess’ room. It takes him longer to catch his breath than he would like to admit. The night terrors he can’t shake off take their toll on him yet again as his lungs ache. The scar on his chest is old but with every nightmare it burns fresh again. He hates this. 

The princess is asleep, undisturbed as he shifts around on the bed. It was a rather large bed. He hadn’t wanted to impose but he was apparently trying to fight a losing battle when the princess convinced him to stay with her in her bed. Padding over, he can see her chest rise and fall under the blankets. She clearly isn’t going to wake up so he doesn’t feel as bad when he leaves the bed to wander. 

Sleep won’t come back that easily. He’d have to clear his head from the nightmares that woke him up in the first place. It’s always the same thing too. The same scene each and every time without fail. And every time he wakes up from it his scar burns with a cold it takes hours to shake off. He hates it, hates it so much. No matter what he tries, no matter how much he wants to, he can’t make it stop. This is why Tenn-nii left, because he was too weak. 

Riku realizes that he currently has no idea where he is. He was just wandering around and now he’s lost. The castle is huge. The hallway he’s currently in looks the same as all the others ones he’s seen. How is he ever going to find his way back to the princess’ room?

Thankfully the knights on patrol seem nice enough to direct him back. They don’t even ask him to talk to them or show them magic! They seem surprised to see him out and about without the princess but they don’t ask any questions aside from if he’s lost which can be answered with a simple nod. 

By the time he does crawl back under the blankets he’s tired enough to have forgotten his earlier dreams in favor of more sleep. The princess doesn’t seem to have woken up at all which he’s thankful for. At least he’s not disturbing anyone else aside from the nice knights. 

Yawning, he curls up and closes his eyes. He falls asleep wondering what tomorrow will bring after everything that had happened. Hopefully this will all be real and not some fever dream. That when daybreak comes, this time, this time the cold might go away.

**Author's Note:**

> so ive been working on this au for a long while now and finally kicked myself to finish this first part outta three. The next part is outlined its just a matter of stringing it all together so then i can actually write the big story this whole au was created for but i have no idea when that'll happen between school and work but i do wanna write it bc ive invested so much into it. Lemme know what yall think and if I should keep going bc motivation is mean to me and validation is v nice so smash that kudos and leave me a comment pretty please. thank.


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